Australian Author, Journalist, Speaker

What a talent pool of artists this festival state of ours has spawned.

When naïve artist Marie Jonsson-Harrison held a girlie lunch for a group of fellow female artists, they were invited to bring samples of their works which revealed amazing diversity in medium and artistic style.

The group has been meeting irregularly for 20 years, and was founded by three naïve artists – Valli Palmgren, Ursula Kiessling and our host Marie (of course), who then invited other artists to attend as guests. These include Jenni Mumford and Lynley Cooper, both recognised contemporary artists and Marie’s neighbours Sarah Philips, who is a talented muralist and abstract artist and Suzie Flashman, whose medium is photography.

It was an exciting, stimulating meeting of talents – and all in an exceptional environment on her large balcony seemingly suspended in the sky with far reaching views up and down St Vincent’s Gulf. And vegetarian Marie’s table was stacked with healthy foods, too. A wonderful gathering of the sisters!